ELMONT, NY — Every young hockey player dreams of making it to the NHL. But it’s a dream that very few — about 0.1 percent of youth hockey players — get to accomplish.
And the odds of you and your best friend making it to the show? Well, those are much slimmer.
But that’s the reality for New York Islanders forward Victor Eklund and Chicago Blackhawks forward Anton Frondell.
Eklund, whom the Islanders selected 16th overall in 2025, and Frondell, whom the Blackhawks selected third overall in 2025, have known each other for quite some time.
Both grew up in the Stockholm, Sweden, area and came up through Djurgårdens IF before making the jump to North America.
Their time together dates back to the organization’s youth and junior ranks, with both eventually reaching the senior team. They played together in HockeyAllsvenskan, Sweden’s second-tier professional league, before helping Djurgården earn promotion to the Swedish Hockey League.
They also represented Sweden internationally, including at the 2026 World Junior Championship, where they helped their country capture gold.
Frondell made the jump to North America first, making his NHL debut against the Islanders on March 24, 2026. He recorded an assist in a 4-3 win over Long Island.
Before his debut, I asked Frondell about Eklund, who was preparing to join Bridgeport of the American Hockey League.
What can you say about your teammate Victor Eklund and his development?
Frondell: “We played together all year. I love playing with him. He works harder than anyone I’ve seen and competes so hard. He’s not the biggest, but he plays like he is — running guys over and creating energy. He brings a lot to the team.”
How did the World Juniors impact Eklund specifically?
Frondell: “After he came back, he started scoring more and playing with confidence as he did in the tournament. He was one of the best players there and helped us win gold. We all brought that confidence back with us.”
Two days later, Eklund came over to Bridgeport before making his NHL debut in game No. 82. Like his friend, he recorded an assist for his first career NHL point.
On Thursday night, the two faced off at the NHL level for the first time.
They weren’t on the ice against each other often, but Eklund loved the chance to go head-to-head with his good pal in what was ultimately a 4-1 Islanders win.
“It was amazing! I mean, it’s pretty weird, but yeah, I guess it’ll be like this for a while,” Eklund said.
The two even got into it a little bit during a scrum:
For now, Eklund has bragging rights.
“Yeah, yeah, I did brag a little bit.”
But before they became opponents Thursday night, the two had a chance to spend some time together.
Eklund told The Elmonters that they hung out Wednesday night.
“We played pool,” Eklund said. “We tied the first game, and then we played some other type of pool game, with different rules.”
But that’s not all they did.
“We also watched Viggo Björck play.”
Björck, whom the Winnipeg Jets selected eighth overall in the 2026 NHL Draft, is a good friend of theirs.
The 18-year-old forward played with Eklund and Frondell at Djurgårdens and was also their teammate on Sweden’s gold-medal-winning team at the 2026 World Juniors.
Three young Swedes who grew up playing together, won gold together, and are now living the same childhood dream.
And while Eklund and Frondell are now NHL opponents, their friendship clearly hasn’t changed.
Even if Eklund gets to do a little bragging along the way.
